


Consequences

by Geekgrrllurking



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:24:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2009115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geekgrrllurking/pseuds/Geekgrrllurking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Did Emma really not think about the consequences of bringing Marian back to Storybrooke? Or was it all going according to the Saviour's plan...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [calliopes_muse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/calliopes_muse/gifts).



> Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and its characters are the property of ABC. No infringement intended.  
> Prompt: Okay, okay...I'd love to see how you'd write SQ post S3 finale. Maybe Regina storms off after realizing what Emma had done and Emma goes after her. I love it when these two fight and then realize why they're really fighting. Plus, it'll be a first time story and you know I love first time stories. :)  
> AN: Written for Calliopes_Muse with all my best wishes for a very happy birthday.

The warm chatter in Granny’s Diner was all that registered at first, a smattering of laughter and the clatter of cutlery, all of it like white noise swirling mindlessly around them as time froze and Robin Hood was reunited with his not so deceased wife. It almost went unnoticed as one happy ending was ripped away and so easily replaced by another. 

Regina Mills stood and blinked in disbelief as her life twisted before her very eyes. She should have known it would be too good to be true. After all, “The Evil Queen” didn’t really deserve to have a happy ending, did she? It didn’t really matter that she was on the right path and working so damn hard to be one of the so-called good guys now. 

Regina’s eyes welled with tears, the pain of betrayal searing through her freshly returned heart was almost too much to bear. She was tempted to rip it back out again, that pain almost preferable to this incredibly awkward and difficult situation. However the moment passed, as the familiar comfort of dark anger sang through her veins and Regina locked eyes with the idiot who was responsible, her ire falling squarely on the strong shoulders of the Saviour, once again stepping in where she didn’t belong. 

“YOU!” Regina swallowed as her voice broke on the word, before her eyes narrowed and she focused intently on the blonde woman in front of her. “You did this.” 

“I--I just wanted to save her life.” Emma Swan’s eyes widened, as she realized the depth of pain she had inflicted on the other woman. She stood her ground, knowing now that there was no turning back from the damage she had done. Returning Marian to this land had also meant returning the woman to her husband and son. 

And in doing so, Emma had shattered any chance Regina had of building a relationship with Robin Hood. 

She watched fascinated as Regina shifted closer, anger practically rolling off her in waves, causing Emma’s stomach to clutch in dread. She accepted the responsibility of her decision, there was no one to blame for this but herself, and that meant she had to take whatever Regina had to dish out. And Regina certainly knew what buttons to push. 

“You’re just like your mother,” Regina spat. “Never thinking about the consequences.” 

“I didn’t know!” Emma shot back, her heart aching for the older woman even if deep down she was sure it had been the right thing to do. It was the right thing for all of them, if Regina would just calm down and think about it. 

“Of course you didn’t!” Regina growled, hot anger gnawing at the pit of her gut and the familiar tingle of dark magic rising deep within. Her fingers tingled with the need to lash out and soothe the wounded beast inside, demanding retribution. It would be so easy. 

The diner grew suddenly silent, as if a collective breath had been taken and held. Out of the corner of her eye, Regina saw Marian pull wee Roland closer, as if protecting him from her. Protecting him from “The Evil Queen” she remembered her to be. 

Well, damn it. 

A cold dash of reality washed over Regina and she mentally reined herself in, refusing to slip back into that role, to get lost in the hurt and anger and lash out, to turn into that person she no longer wanted to be. She would not allow this mess to destroy all her hard work to redeem herself, to walk the narrow path. Oh this was not over, not by any means, but Regina would not get into this here and now. It was time for a tactical retreat, but not without a final parting shot of some sort. 

“Well, you just better hope to hell you didn’t bring anything else back.” Regina snapped, knowing that she had to go now before she did or said something they would all regret. She silently turned and stormed out without another word, before her feelings completely overwhelmed her. 

The small bell above the diner door had hardly finished dinging from Regina’s hasty exit, before the room burst into conversation and nervous movement. Emma barely noticed however, as she stared long and hard at the door before turning to meet the gaze of an equally concerned Robin Hood. He glanced down at his restored family and then back to Emma. As much as he might have wished otherwise, Regina was no longer his responsibility. He sighed and turned away, moving his family back towards the booth they had just vacated. 

Regina was Emma’s concern now, and that just proved it to her. 

“Fuck.” Emma pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered under her breath. “How much worse could that have possibly gone?” She needed to take care of this fast, if the purple swirling in the depths of Regina’s eyes was any indication. It had been a close call, a near relapse back to the Evil Queen and into the clutches of her dark magic, but Regina had hung on, despite everything. Emma’s mind spun trying to quickly figure out her next step when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to meet the worried eyes of her mother. 

“Emma,” Snow White’s dark eyes shone with sympathetic tears. “Don’t leave it like this with Regina. Follow her, don’t let this turn into what happened between her and I.” Snow brought her hand up to cup Emma’s cheek, making sure that her daughter was listening to her. “You understand her so much better than I ever did. Regina is part of our family now and we can’t forget that in a moment of misunderstanding and anger.” 

“Yeah, Ma,” Henry said coming up to stand beside Snow. He swallowed hard and spoke quietly, the concern evident in his voice. “Did you see Mom’s eyes? We need to find her, I don’t think she should be alone.” Henry grabbed Emma’s hand ready to join her in the search and tugged her towards the diner door. It warmed Emma’s heart but this wasn’t his mess. 

“Kid, wait.” Emma stopped before he got too far. “This is something that I need to work out with your mother, just her and I. You need to stay here with your grandparents—“ Her eyes flicked up at Snow who nodded in agreement. 

“But, Ma!!” Henry crossed his arms, not at all happy about being left behind. 

“No buts, Henry.” Emma sighed. Henry shook his head but moved to stand next to Snow White, her mother’s small smile encouraging her. Time was of the essence and she needed to think. Where would Regina go to lick her wounds? 

“Listen, luv, maybe you should just let old cranky britches cool down.” Killian said quietly from behind her. Emma saw the same look of irritation flash across both Henry and Snow’s faces and almost laughed out loud. She didn’t need this from Hook now. “Regina can be a right bit—erm…” Hook took in the disapproving frowns surrounding him and tried again, smiling with as much of his roguish charm as he could muster to cover his apparent misstep. “I just mean, the Queen can be very dangerous when she’s upset. A bit of time apart might be just what is needed.” 

“No, Killian,” Emma sighed and shook her head slightly. The man had no clue really. Between this and the lackluster kiss they had shared outside, it only solidified things in her mind. “What I need to do is find Regina and straighten this out. Alone.” Emma ignored his hurt puppy dog eyes and grabbed her jacket, heading quickly out the door, into the rapidly cooling night.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma drove past the lifeless Mifflin St. mansion, looked for the tell-tale sign of lights in the mayor’s office at city hall and even checked out the lonely park benches overlooking the harbour, all to no avail. Regina was nowhere to be found. Emma ran her hand through her long blonde hair and slumped down on the nearest bench. Snow had said she understood Regina better than anyone, but as she stared out at the tiny fishing boat lights bobbing out on the water she wondered if that was really true. She had gambled bringing Marion back to Storybrooke and now Emma feared that she had royally screwed it all up. 

“Come on, Saviour, think.” Emma leaned back and let out a slow breath, racking her brain. Apparently her bounty hunting skills were getting rusty these days. 

Regina had retreated, pulled back from the light, away from her new and tentative family ties. Not that Emma could blame her, after all, old habits die hard and since when had Regina been able to actually trust the Charming family. She had hoped to change that though… 

Emma shook her head and tried to refocus. The question now was where would Regina head to wallow in her misery? Where did she feel the most in control and powerful? Emma’s eyes widened as it suddenly hit her. 

“Of course!” Emma stood and headed back to her car. The last bastion of Regina’s magic in this realm seemed like the logical place to check out next. Ten minutes later, relief washed over her as Emma finally pulled up beside Regina’s car and parked. 

The Mills family crypt was creepy at the best of times, but visiting it at night added another dimension of eerie to it. A light covering of snow stubbornly hung on in the shadows of the tombstones and Emma tugged her scarf a bit tighter to her throat as she made her way from her little yellow car through the cemetery. Reaching the doorway, Emma concentrated and with a poof of white light, a small fireball appeared in the palm of her hand to light her way. 

“I could get used to this.” Emma smiled, pleased with her new magical skills, before stepping inside and down the uncovered stone stairs to the dank chamber below. Long shadows fell as she carefully made her way down into the dark depths. It hadn’t been that long ago that she had been here with Regina, being told in no uncertain terms to not touch anything. It had felt good to be working together instead of at odds with each other. And the energy pulsing between them, well, it had been magical. 

Emma stopped at the bottom of the stairs and listened carefully, trying to gain a sense of what was around her. A small rustling sound came from behind and she turned, blinking through the spider webs and dim light. If she remembered correctly, there was a hidden room down here where Regina kept her most prized items from the Enchanted Forest, and the most dangerous. 

Cautiously, Emma lifted the light towards the small room and sighed in relief. There sat the former queen on an old throne, a silver goblet in her hand and a very old bottle of wine covered in dust and cobwebs opened beside her. 

“Come to finish me off, Miss Swan?” Regina said bitterly, dark eyes surveying her moodily over the rim of the goblet as she took another sip. Her gaze lingered on the lithe form of the blonde as Emma made her way towards her, before once again locking with the warm green eyes. 

“No, not at all.” Emma said focusing on the candelabra to the right, the candles flaring to life and blanketing the room in warm flickering light. The fireball in her hand disappeared as quickly as she had conjured it and she turned her attention back to the problem at hand. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you. Can we just talk about this? We were building a friendship that I’m not willing to give up on.” 

“Oh, Miss Swan, come on.” Regina snorted and took another deep swallow of the blood red wine in her goblet, before getting to her feet. She spread her arms wide, anger and tightly controlled power rolling off of her as she took a menacing step forward. “You’ve seen ‘The Evil Queen’, in all her glory. I threw you into the dungeon to be executed. Hell, I used your mother for kindling and set her on fire, if I recall correctly. I don’t deserve any sort of happy ending for all of my sins and now you’ve made certain of that.” She stepped into Emma’s personal space, her eyes raking down the slender curves and hollows before moving back up, their eyes locking. “How can you even _stand_ to be near me?” 

Emma swallowed hard, refusing to turn away from the anguish in the other woman’s voice. This wasn’t the irrationally furious woman she expected to be arguing and apologizing to for the next three months. Instead before her stood someone struggling with her past, insecure and fragile hidden deep inside a ball of hurt and anger. Someone not really mourning the loss of the man in her life so much as feeling betrayed. 

“You’re not that woman anymore, Regina.” Emma whispered, not backing down for an instant and not moving away. In fact, she leaned closer to make her point. “And I am not some helpless princess needing to be rescued from you. And this sure as hell isn’t the Enchanted Forest, thank God.” A heated moment passed, two hearts beating in time, warm breath mingling, before Regina slowly blinked and stepped back, looking down into the depths of her wine goblet once more. 

“Well, be that as it may, I’m not one of the good guys here either, and that was made perfectly clear.” Regina swirled her wine and took another swallow. Maybe if she swallowed enough of the dark liquid it would dull the ache of disappointment. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t even remember Marian being imprisoned. She was just one of many lives ruined, because of me...” She shifted, not wanting to think about it. So much to be atoned for, how could she even think there was a chance at redemption? That someone good and decent would ever want to be with her. Regina sighed, spiralling deeper into her brooding melancholy. 

“Regina, don’t.“Emma reached out to touch the nearest arm, only to have Regina move beyond her grasp. She dropped her hand and waited. 

“No, I deserve this and so much more. I just didn’t expect it to come from…” Regina’s voice faltered and she shook her head, before grabbing a second silver goblet from a wooden chest. Blowing any dirt from inside it, she snatched up the dusty wine bottle, tipping it completely until the last drop had fallen. 

“That’s not why I brought Marian back to Storybrooke, I told you. I didn’t know.” Emma sighed in frustration. Regina simply shrugged one shoulder, indifferent to her words. 

“So now what, hm?” Regina moved back towards Emma and handed her the other goblet. “Do we go back to our normal mortal enemy relationship? I don’t get to see my son anymore? I just sit in my lonely mansion twiddling my thumbs, plotting evil deeds and cooking lasagna until you and your idiot parents need to accuse me of something again?” She wandered back across the room, watching the candelabra candles flicker and spit. 

“That’s not what this is going to become,” Emma said, taking a gulp of the red wine and feeling the warmth of it go down her throat, slow and languid. Damn, it was good. “Not if we don’t let it.” 

“You know, I thought maybe, just maybe, I had a chance at something normal. With time I could have loved Robin. I think he could have loved me too.” Regina sighed, running her hand through her dark hair. She spared a glance back at Emma, her words softer now. “And I thought that we were becoming closer too, that we were…friends.” 

“So did I,” Emma said just as softly. “We were building something new, a new normal for us, one where we were friends. Maybe even good friends.” Emma looked down at her feet and biting her lip, afraid to say more, yet knowing this was it, this was the time to bare it all or never speak of it again. “Maybe even more than friends.” 

Regina froze, her heart thundering deep inside, the sound of it distracting after all this time without it. Was the Saviour actually admitting there was something there? Something raw and dangerous between the two of them, that pulsed just beneath the surface, something beyond magic. 

The Evil Queen and the Saviour, together? It was insane. 

And yet, here they were. 

“Yes, I felt that too.” Regina finally whispered into the silence weighing down on both of them. Emma’s eyes snapped up and locked with her gaze. Regina swallowed and allowed the disappointment to wash over her again. She needed to get it out if they were ever to make peace with each other again. “And then, before I knew it, you were threatening to leave town and take Henry with you.” 

It was true, Emma had fallen back into old habits and was preparing to run away. Instead of staying and fighting for what she wanted, fighting for a family and a home, as unlikely as it was. 

“There was no future for me here. The curse had been broken and you…” Emma let the words fade, dropping her gaze again. 

“And I?” Regina finally dared to ask, terrified of the answer and yet desperate to hear it. 

“And you had Robin freakin’ Hood sniffing around you like a dog in heat. Henry was so thrilled with him and his damned bow.” Emma snapped back, the hurt and jealousy flowing through her words. Regina raised an eyebrow at the tone. Emma sighed, defeated. “How could I possibly compete with that?” 

“Don’t forget that whole pixie dust soul mate prophecy,” Regina helpfully supplied, stepping over to open another dusty bottle with a wave of her hand. “I sure as hell wasn’t allowed to.” She filled up her goblet with more wine, and moved to top up Emma’s as well. “Destiny is what we make it, dear, but not if you’re the Evil Queen.” 

“Or the Saviour.” Emma sighed and took another sip, needing all the courage she could muster for this next part. This would make or break everything; she only prayed she could make Regina understand. She turned back to meet Regina’s dark eyes, watching her every move. “So when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.” 

“You what?” Regina frowned and cocked her head, not sure she had heard right. 

“I saw my chance and I took it,” Emma straightened her shoulders and took a step closer. “You were absolutely right in the diner, I knew exactly who Marian was and what the consequences would be if I brought her back to Storybrooke.” 

The silence in the crypt was deafening.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The dusty wine bottle slipped from Regina’s cold fingers and shattered on the crypt floor, bits and pieces of glass flying everywhere, blood red wine pooling at their feet. Regina barely noticed, her mind whirling at Emma’s words, clearing the mess away with a distracted wave of her hand and a puff of purple smoke. 

“You…knew?” Regina shook her head; she couldn’t be hearing this right. She had finally resigned herself that it was cruel fate biting her in the ass and calmed down enough to realize that the Saviour couldn’t help herself from doing noble things, even if it hurt those around her. Shake in the idiot gene pool Emma had come from and it was no wonder fate had aligned to bring Marian back to Storybrooke. 

What else could she believe now though, when Emma Swan had admitted to purposely planning to destroy her chance at happiness? A familiar fury once more rose within her as Regina glared across the room, seething more as Emma simply offered up a lopsided grin to her question and nodded. 

Emma didn’t realize she had hit the stone wall behind her, until the force of it had knocked the wind from her lungs. She would have slumped to the floor but Regina had her by the throat, her right hand and magic easily holding her in place, the normally dark eyes swirling purple and a sadly familiar snarl twisted the older woman’s lips. 

Emma gasped and tried to catch her breath, the rough-hewn stone rubbing against the skin of her lower back as she wriggled and her jacket rode up. Being magically thrown across the small room had happened so fast, and yet Regina had not lost control. In fact she seemed to be very much in control, harnessing the dark magic within with ease. Emma knew she needed to explain and fast, before the ‘Evil Queen’ liked being out to play. 

“Do not TEST me, Miss Swan!” Regina growled, her left hand coming up with a white hot flaming ball of energy. She was on a razor’s edge, needing time and space to process it all, neither of which was forthcoming any time soon. Both women could feel the surge of power between them now, tingling along nerve endings, muscles humming like tight strings. Surrendering to it would be so easy, if she dared. Regina leaned in closer, their bodies pressing together, as if she needed the warmth between them to ground her again. Emma panted unable to do anything but watch in fascination, their eyes locked, their warm breath mingling as she waited. Regina’s eyes began to dim and return to their warm brown, her breathing calmed as she her eyes fluttered shut and her head tipped forward bringing their foreheads together. 

They stayed like that for a long moment, the flame in Regina’s hand finally flickering out, leaving the two women in the dim candlelight as before. Emma shifted slightly, the grip around her throat easing and she knew that Regina was back to herself. She brought her hand around Regina’s waist and tugged her closer, holding her, needing the tactile feel of her as she admitted everything. 

“I hadn’t been in the dungeon cell that long, when Marian began to tell me all about her poor husband Robin and her son Roland. She was heartbroken that she would never see her boy grow up.” Emma opened her eyes as Regina sighed and leaned back, her own dark eyes fluttering open once more. Emma smiled sadly, bringing her hand up to cover the one now resting on her upper chest. “I knew I should leave her there, to not change the timeline, but it was my chance.” 

“Your chance?” Regina bristled, pulling away and taking a step back as if hit. “To what? Destroy any chance I might have for happiness?” 

Emma winced as her words once again set Regina off, but she refused to back down now, it was all or nothing. She pushed herself from the wall and followed as Regina moved around the room, clearly wanting to lash out but holding it together. 

“God, NO.” Emma moved closer, reaching out trying to make the woman understand. “Don’t you see? It was _our_ chance, Regina.” 

“What?” Regina pulled away, confused and angry. Emma moved faster, grabbing Regina’s cold hand and turning her to face her, and holding on this time. 

“Don’t you see? It was our chance to have a happy ending, to have a family together with Henry.” Emma’s eyes softened in the candlelight, her smile growing as she spoke. “We could go on stakeouts and hunt down bad guys, you could teach me magic and we could bitch about my parents together. To have dinner with them at Granny’s and have you steal my fries while we laugh over something silly Henry has said. It was all I’ve ever wanted. A real family.” 

“Emma,” Regina murmured softly, as the blonde simply shrugged with one shoulder. The older woman stilled, her heart beating loud in her chest. Someone to love and to be loved by, despite everything, it was too much to expect but not too much to hope for, if she dared. 

“It’s all I’ve ever really wanted.” Emma turned away, her eyes shining now with unshed tears, which she refused to have Regina see. She wiped at the moisture clinging there, irritated with herself. She grabbed Regina’s discarded silver goblet and took a big swallow of wine before she continued. 

“So when you started spending more time with Robin, it was as if I’d lost something vital. He made you so happy and watching you with Roland…” Emma smiled remembering how natural Regina had been with the boy, how beautiful it had been. How beautiful she had been. How desperately Emma wished she could have been there when Regina had raised their son. All of it was slipping through her fingers and it was killing her. 

“And what about that damned pirate puppy-dogging you everywhere?” Regina asked, her voice slicing through the stillness. 

“I know.” Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. “I saw him in his natural element in the Enchanted Forest, drunk off his ass and hitting on everything that moved, including slobbering all over me.” 

“Was he wearing the same clothes still?” Regina sniffed, unable to resist the easy jab. Emma sighed and prepared herself for the next admission. 

“You should know that I kissed him outside the diner when we returned,” Emma looked away. Full disclosure or this would never work. “No secrets between us, Regina. Not anymore.” 

Emma watched Regina’s eyes grow dark again but with an emotion she wasn’t sure of. Was it anger or, dare she hope, was it jealousy? 

“So you destroyed my relationship and kissed the pirate anyway, just in case?” Regina grabbed her goblet back and took a much needed swallow. 

“No, I needed to know that after everything that I had done, that my feelings had not changed and that I had made the right decision.” Emma knew this was probably a bad idea but she couldn’t help herself. She took a step and then another, moving well within Regina’s personal space. “And I most definitely have.” 

Emma’s eyes dropped to Regina’s full lips, feeling the energy between them flare back to life. There was no comparison; the pirate had as much chemistry with her as a cold fish. This, whatever this was with Regina, was like a living breathing entity, something beyond the norm. And Emma wanted it, desperately. 

“I know what I want, Regina.” Emma licked her lips and moved closer still. “More importantly, I know _who_ I want.” 

“Miss Swan, don’t start something you aren’t prepared to finish.” Regina exhaled, her breath warm on Emma’s flushed cheek, her heart thundering now. There would be no turning back from this, if they both dared to take what they wanted. 

“I’m the Saviour, and I always finish what I start,” Emma smirked, her head dipping the scant few inches left to take what she wanted. 

A flash of white light swirled and enveloped them, lurching them from the here and now and into nothingness.


	4. Chapter 4

“Cocky as ever, my dear,” The warm breath from Regina’s amused voice caressed Emma’s cheek, drawing her back from the brink of unconsciousness.

 

“What the hell just happened?” Emma blinked, groggy but still standing on her feet. She felt slightly nauseous and dizzy, the smell of burnt ozone hanging heavy in the air. One moment she had been enjoying herself immensely, the very essence of Regina seeming to envelope her as their lips met, sinking into the warmth of her mouth as the kiss deepened. The next thing Emma knew, her body felt on fire, and not in the good sexy kind of way. The feeling grew quickly and then it was like falling into a pit, surrounded by sudden darkness.

 

“Why, you transported us out of the crypt, of course.” Regina said, a hint of a smile evident in the sound of her voice. Or was that pride?

 

“I did?” Emma said, weaving slightly, grateful when she felt strength of the older woman’s hand take her arm to steady her. She tried to focus, taking a few deep breaths. Emma suddenly smiled, all pleased with herself for successfully using her magic again, although completely at loss to how she had done it.

 

“You did,” Regina chuckled quietly, as she peered around the darkness and recognized the room that they had appeared in. “You might recall that magic is emotion and evidently you wanted to get into my bedroom REALLY badly.”

 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to get into your bedroom,” Emma murmured under her breath, causing Regina to laugh louder. Emma smiled wider, the unexpected sound doing things to her lower body. She could get very used to hearing Regina’s laugh, given half the chance.

 

“Do tell, Miss Swan.” Regina’s voice was silky and seductive in the darkness of the master bedroom.

 

Emma looked down and shrugged one shoulder, suddenly shy at her admission. She felt long fingers stroke into her thick blonde hair, pulling it from her face, tender and caring. Completely distracting Emma from whatever she was going to say next.

 

“Regina…” Emma murmured, turning into the gentle touch, her eyes fluttering shut.

 

“I know, we still have so much to sort out.” Regina said, her voice dropping lower as she moved closer still. “But you should know that I want you too, Emma. I want whatever you can give me, but I will not be the other woman and I will not do anything to upset our son. I guess what I need to know is where you stand and where exactly Hook fits into all this.” Regina’s eyes dropped and she pulled nervously at her fingers. “Otherwise we need to stop this now, before we both do something we will regret.”

 

Emma swallowed hard, not wanting this to escalate out of control, to spook Regina before anything had even started. She was too close to everything she had ever wanted to watch it slip through her fingers now. When she had discovered Robin Hood’s wife in the cell next to her, Emma was sure that it was destiny that the universe was telling her that she could have what she wanted if she was willing to fight for it. Now Regina was rightfully asking her intentions, it was time to admit all, if Emma ever hoped to have her happy ending. Emma reached out and took Regina’s cold hand in her own, needing the connection, needing the silent strength of the formidable woman.

 

“I am exactly where I want to be, Regina. I want to be by your side, raising our son together as a family and hopefully sharing your bed.” Emma’s gaze locked with Regina’s as her dark eyes looked up at her declaration, the simmering heat found there sending a shiver of desire down her spine. “Hook doesn’t even enter the equation, he never did and I’ll take care of that error in judgement as soon as I can.”

 

“Good, because if you haven’t already guessed, I don’t share very well.” The flash of jealousy in Regina’s dark eyes was plain to see. Emma snorted at the understatement before glancing down and then back up again.

 

“Y’know, he told me that he gave up _The Jolly Roger_ to find me but that’s nothing to what you have done, not even close. You saved us all and got nothing but more heartache in return. You gave me your cherished memories of our son, and the promise now of being a family together and the hope for a happy ending. There is no comparison. You win every time. To be honest, I don’t think there has been anyone else since I stepped over that town line.”

 

Regina inhaled sharply at the words, the truth of them echoed in the tickle of magic flowing between them, like a secret language. She wondered if Emma even realized she was giving off the energy. 

 

“Still, have you really thought this through?” Regina moved away, needing the distance from Emma’s beckoning curves to think clearly. “There are consequences that come along with aligning yourself with the Evil Queen.”

 

Emma sighed and flopped down onto the large bed, covering her eyes with her hands. “God, why can things never be easy with you, Regina?”

 

“Exactly my point.” Regina said softly. “This will not be easy. Before I set myself up, and Henry for that matter, for getting hurt, we should talk about all of this. What about your parents, what about your friends, what about the rest of Storybrooke? Do you really want to be with someone like me?” Regina pulled a curtain and glanced out the window to survey the small town.

 

“Someone like you? What the hell, Regina?” Emma propped herself up on her elbows behind her back and glared at the infuriating woman. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m no prize either. I’m sure as hell no saviour, despite what everyone says. I’m human and make mistakes and so are you.”

 

Regina sighed, unsure and terrified, and continued to stare out the window. Emma had taken a huge gamble, one that could have easily backfired. It was time for her to take the next step, to be brave herself. Maybe it was time for her happy ending after all, if she dared.

 

Emma stood and made her way to the window, coming up behind Regina, breathing in her scent, feeling the increasingly familiar tingle of their combined magic playing across her skin.

 

“I choose you and all that entails.” Emma wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist, pulling the woman closer, needing to connect with her.

 

“Be careful what you wish for, my dear, “ Regina turned in her arms, her eyes dark with emotion, the Evil Queen lurking there, want, take, have, blatantly on display. Emma swallowed hard but didn’t flinch.

 

“Because you just might get it.”

 


End file.
